Graduate Teaching Community

Thursday, May 18, 2017

Adjuncts and Academic Labor

Contributed by: Stacy Wittstock, PhD
Student, School of Education

Adjuncts and other contingent faculty have increasingly been
bearing the important burden of teaching in colleges and universities across
the US. As the availability of tenure track positions shrinks, only to be
replaced by more non-tenure track contingent faculty, short-term contracts and
part-time positions have gradually become the norm in higher education. Faculty
in these positions face low-pay, job insecurity, poor working conditions, lack
of support from departments and institutions, and little or no benefits
normally available to their colleagues in full-time or tenure track positions. Ultimately,
this trend presents serious concerns for both non-tenure track and tenure track faculty, university
administrators, and most importantly, students.

·Adjunct—part-time instructors for
primarily entry-level courses (depending on the school)

·According to the American Association of
University Professors:

oMore than 50% of all faculty appointments
are part-time

§This can include “positions that may be
classified by the institution as adjuncts, part-time lecturers, or graduate
assistantships.”

oMore than 70% of all instructional staff
positions in American higher education are non-tenure track

·Some
statistics:

oA 2012 report from the Center for the Future of
Higher Education found that:

§77% of respondents teach in part-time,
contingent positions

§54% teach in more than one institution

§29% teach in two institutions

§11% teach in three institutions

§6% teach in four institutions

§52% teach in four year institutions

§14% teach in both two and four year institutions

§59% teach in at least one position governed by a
collective bargaining agreement

oAdditionally, the National Center for Education
Statistics found that in 2013, that the majority of non-tenure track
instructors and lecturers are women (see Figure 1 below).

oFinally, trends in employment in higher
education in the last 50 years have demonstrated that full-time faculty
(non-tenure and tenure track) positions have decreased, corresponding with an
increase in part-time positions (see Figure 2 below).

Adjunct Wages

•The
median per-class wage for a semester-long course for adjuncts in $2,700

•In
2013, NPR found that adjuncts’ average annual pay is between $20,000 and
$25,000

•In
a survey of 500 adjuncts, Pacific Standard found in 2015 that the majority of
participants earned less than $20,000 per year

•A
2015 report from UC Berkeley found that 25% of adjuncts receive public
assistance like Medicaid or food stamps

•Because
they are part-time, adjuncts typically are not eligible for health insurance,
or other benefits (e.g., retirement, life insurance, etc.)

•This
is bad for both NTT and TT faculty, as this leaves an often incredible workload
for TT faculty

So, What Happened?

•The
myth is that the adjunct crisis was caused by the Great Recession and
subsequent cuts to higher education funding

•However,
according to the AAUP,“the turn towards
cheaper contingent labor is largely a matter of priorities rather than economic
necessity.”

•“While
many institutions are currently suffering budget cuts, the greatest growth in
contingent appointments occurred during times of economic prosperity.”

•“Many
institutions have invested heavily in facilities and technology while cutting
instructional spending.”

•“Though
incoming students may find finer facilities, they are also likely to find fewer
full-time faculty with adequate time, professional support, and resources
available for their instruction.”

The Effects on
Students

•Because
of the excessive demands on their time, and the likelihood that they are
working at multiple institutions (AAUP; CFHEP, 2012):

•Adjuncts
have less time to support students outside of the classroom and may lack spaces
in which to do so

•Adjuncts
often have less time to plan lessons, and even courses themselves

•There
is often far less scrutiny on the hiring of adjuncts than on full-time NTT or
TT faculty

•According
to the AAUP,“The high turnover among
contingent faculty members mean that some students may never have the same
teacher twice, or may be unable to find an instructor who knows them well
enough to write a letter of recommendation.”

The Effects on
Faculty

•Less
full-time NTT and TT faculty means:

•The
integrity of work in the department as a whole is lowered when so many levels
of faculty are responsible for teaching

Thursday, May 11, 2017

Teaching Support Structures at UC Davis

Contributed By: Gabriel LaHue

We took a slight detour from our quarter theme this week,
and rather than looking at what teaching opportunities exist outside of UC
Davis, we focused on structures to support teaching here on campus and the
Center for Educational Effectiveness (CEE) in particular. Education Specialist Dr.
Patricia Turner gave us an overview of CEE and the Associate Director of the
CEE, Dr. Kem Saichaie, followed up by speaking in greater detail about specific
CEE initiatives and where the CEE is headed. Broadly speaking, CEE covers three
main areas: Learning and Teaching Support, Educational Analytics, and Instructional
Research and Development. This latter area conducts research to improve
teaching and learning, and the focus of educational analytics is on-campus data
analysis to support instructional effectiveness. The first focal area of the
CEE, Learning and Teaching Support, is the specialty of both Patricia and Kem
and that is what we spent the most time discussing.

The Learning and Teaching Support focal area includes twelve
programs designed to improve learning and teaching in UC Davis classrooms. Our
very own Graduate Teaching Community, the Teaching Assistant Consultant
Program, the Seminar on College Teaching, and TA Orientation are geared toward
helping TAs and graduate students in general become more effective teachers,
with varying levels of commitment required on the part of the graduate
students. Faculty workshops, faculty consultations, Mid-quarter Inquiries (MQIs),
classroom observations, and faculty learning communities are focused on aiding
faculty in their quest to become better teachers. Lastly, the CEE also helps
with online course development, sponsors grant programs, and conducts workshops
for departments.

Welcome to the GTC!

The aim of this group is to provide a space for graduate students and post-docs on the UC Davis campus to feel supported in our efforts to become better teachers. This is a place to discuss teaching and learning philosophy and practice. We meet with the purpose of creating opportunities for collaborative interdisciplinary professional development in a community setting.

Spring 2017Meeting Time: Thursdays, 11:00 am - 12:00 pm

Location: Surge III (The Grove), Room 1353 or 1360

Questions? Want to get on the GTC list-serve? Contact this year's GTC facilitator: